


wait for the colours to turn to gold.

by fleurdelester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, Neighbours, Strangers to Lovers, fashion blogger!Dan, movie reviewer!Phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 01:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7781962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurdelester/pseuds/fleurdelester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where fashion blogger!Dan and movie reviewer!Phil are neighbours, and when Dan sees Phil about to ruin a shirt by hanging it on his balcony, he must stop him in the name of fashion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	wait for the colours to turn to gold.

**Author's Note:**

> originally published on tumblr (evacuated-heart)

Dan tends to work better on his balcony. He’s not entirely sure why, but one day he found that the natural air seemed to boost his creative ability and he was able to write an entire blog post in under an hour.

Of course, the view from his balcony is no source for inspiration. He lives in a complex surrounded by other buildings all owned by the same landlord, so when he looks over his railing, all he sees is rows of other balconies from neighbouring buildings and a communal garden that’s really more of a giant patch of grass.

Other than the view, he has no reason to complain about his place. It’s spacious, with a spare room he uses as a closet and photoshoot area.

The only thing that really ticks him off is his neighbour, who obviously has no knowledge of fashion and tends to hang his clothes out to dry. Every few days Dan sees him come outside with a basket of brightly coloured tee shirts and several pair of eccentrically patterned socks.

 _What a shame,_ he thinks, looking the man up and down. He really would look good in some of Dan’s designer clothes. But Dan knows that even though he’s a fashion blogger, not everyone cares about the latest trends, so he keeps his thoughts to himself.

That is, until his neighbour does the unspeakable.

It’s a regular Saturday afternoon. Dan is sitting on his balcony, trying to brainstorm ideas for future blog posts, when he sees the neighbour emerge onto his balcony with a single item in hand.

Dan squints to try and see what it is, before making the connection that the lump of wrinkled dark fabric is a dress shirt, and his neighbour is about to drape it over his railing to dry.

“No, wait–” he jumps up from his chair, rushing towards the raining. His neighbour doesn’t notice him though, as he’s too busy whistling while he straightens out the fabric. Dan cups his hands around his mouth to try and make his voice louder.

“Hey!” he calls, finally grabbing his neighbour’s attention, who stops what he’s doing to look Dan’s way. “You shouldn’t dry your shirt like that!”

His neighbour looks puzzled, raising an eyebrow at Dan.

“What?” he calls back. “I can’t hear what you’re saying, come over here! I’m in 24C!”

Dan sighs. He’s been lounging in his pyjamas all day, so he’s definitely not dressed appropriately to make a good first impression. His need to protect that poor shirt and possibly save the stranger from a fashion disaster outweighs his need to look good, so he slips on a pair of shoes (his yeezys, to be precise) and slips his keys into his pocket.

He makes his way into the other building, easily finding his way to apartment 24C. He knocks on the door and taps his foot impatiently.

His neighbour swings open the door, a pair of thick rimmed glasses sitting askew on his face. The messy look really suits him, and now that Dan can see his face up close, he can’t believe how model worthy his features are.

“Hi! I’m Phil,” the neighbour says cheerily, holding out his hand for Dan to shake. Dan takes it and admires the firm grip the other man has.

“Dan,” he says, releasing his hand.

“So, what were you calling over the balcony?” Phil asks, spinning on his heel and walking into his apartment. Dan takes it as an invitation inside, and he takes a minute to admire the place.

The decorations are such a contrast to Dan’s that it takes him a second to register that they follow the same layout. While his walls are plain white, with black and white photos hung as accents, Phil’s are plastered with various posters, and his shelves are littered with knickknacks. The colours of Phil’s walls almost make Dan feel happier, like the place gives off an aura.

He’s so busy looking at the decorations that he almost forgets to answer the question. “Oh yeah, I was saying you’re going to wrinkle your shirt that way.”

“Really?” Phil asks, picking up a mug from his coffee table and walking into what Dan knows is the kitchen. “I’ve always been doing that way.”

“Yeah, it’ll eventually ruin the shirt if you do it too much. I would suggest steaming it in your bathroom and then letting it air dry on a hanger.” Dan scratches the back of his neck. He knows it’s part of his job to know the proper procedures for taking care of clothes, but he still feels a bit pretentious knowing all about it.

“Alright, I’ll try that. Thanks Dan.” Phil smiles.

Dan knows the conversation has run out, but he doesn’t want to leave just yet. “Anytime. What’s the occasion, you going to a wedding later?”

“No, actually,” Phil says. “I’m going to the Civil War premiere.”

Dan feels his heart rate in excitement.  His neighbour must be important if he’s invited to movie premieres. Who could he be?

“I’m so jealous, I’d love to go,” Dan says, trying to keep the conversation casual. “I’d love to see Scarlett Johansson in person, my most popular post is about her.”

“Oh, are you a blogger?” Phil asks, his eyes lighting up with interest.

“I am,” Dan replies shyly, his cheeks tinting a light pink. “I run a fashion blog—that’s how I know so much about the care of dress shirt fabrics.”

“I run a blog too!” Phil sounds so excited about their newfound common interest Dan can’t help but smile at him. “I review movies, which is how I got an invite to this premiere.” After a moment’s pause, Phil pipes up, “You know, I have a spare invite, if you wanted to go. You could come as my plus one.”

Dan restrains himself from tackling Phil into a hug from excitement. “I’d love to! I’ve never actually been to a premiere before.”

“You’ll have fun,” Phil assures. “I’m going to go steam this, meet me in the lobby at 7?”

“Sounds good,” Dan says, turning to leave. “I’ll see you later, Phil.”

Dan returns to his apartment with butterflies in his stomach and a warm feeling in his chest.

-

Dan is waiting in the lobby of Phil’s building twenty minutes before he’s supposed to. He can’t help that he’s excited, and honestly, he should get a medal for being punctual for once.

He sits on one of the benches near the mailboxes, being careful to not crease his clothing. He wasn’t too sure about the dress code of the event, so he settled on a crisp white dress shirt with an embroidered pattern and some cropped pants. He has a jacket that matches the outfit, but it would probably be too much considering he’s attending as a guest.

Fortunately Phil shows up five minutes early, wearing the (unwrinkled) shirt tucked into black pants held up by suspenders. Dan would find anyone else wearing that positively dorky, but the look flatters Phil’s personality perfectly.

“You’re early,” Phil comments as Dan stands up to greet him, brushing the nonexistent dust from his pants.

“I’m known for being late, so I convinced myself that we were meeting at 6:30 just in case.” Phil’s hand comes up to cover his mouth as he giggles.

“Well, the taxi won’t be here for another twenty minutes, so we have time to kill,” he comments, still giggling a little. “You look nice, by the way. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a fashion blogger.”

Dan smiles at the compliment, his cheeks heating up a bit. “You look nice too.”

Phil holds out his arm, offering it to Dan. “Let’s go sit outside.”

He smiles, looping his arm through Phil’s and letting Phil lead him into the garden.

“I never understood why they never plant any flowers or trees here. It’s just a patch of grass,” Dan comments as they sit down on a bench.

“Me neither. I would love if they put some effort into the garden, but first they should take care of the stairs leading to the fourth floor. They creak so loudly that the entire floor hears anyone who uses them.”

They continue to complain to pass the time, and Dan learns that Phil hates when it’s too hot but loves the rain, and he can’t stand when food is unnecessarily spicy (after having a bad experience with a chili pastry at a premiere). Dan disagrees about his preferred type of weather; he loves when it’s hot enough to wear crop tops and hates when it rains because his hair gets all curly.

Before they know it, their twenty minutes of waiting time have passed and they enter the cab. Phil says the premiere isn’t very far away, but he likes being early because sometimes he can avoid the press that’ll pester him on his expectations.

“Do you not like talking to them?” Dan asks, fiddling with the cufflinks on his sleeve.

“No. They only ever ask personal questions or questions I’ve answered before. It’s always the same thing.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan responds sympathetically. “There was a point where people would only ask me what happened between me and my ex because I stopped posting pictures of him on my blog, so I know how you feel.”

“I guess that’s just what life in the media is.” Phil shrugs, looking out the window instead of meeting Dan’s eyes. He points out the window, and Dan leans over to see. “There it is.”

Dan can see people milling around a red carpet and a mob of photographers waiting to snap pictures of celebrities exiting their cars.

They pull up next to the entrance, and Phil hands a wad of cash to the cab driver before he pushes open the door. He steps out of the car, offering a hand to Dan, which he gladly takes. Dan hears various people murmuring as he gets out of the car, but he ignores them and follows Phil onto the carpet. As he’s leaving, he sees a hesitant photographer raise his camera to take a picture of them out of the corner of his eye.

They reach what Phil refers to as the ‘wall of press’, and Dan isn’t quite sure if he should have his picture taken or not when a woman approaches them.

“Who are you boys?” she asks politely, holding a clipboard and pen.

“Phil Lester and my plus one, Dan, er,” Phil bites his lip, only just realizing he doesn’t know Dan’s last name.

“Howell.” Dan finishes for him.

“Alright, you’re set to go for the photos. Have a nice night,” she says cheerily before moving onto someone else.

“Dan Howell.” Phil tries out the name. “It’s nice.”

“I could say the same to you, Phil Lester.” Phil giggles again, his tongue poking through his front teeth. He turns around and waits in line to have his picture taken.

When the line in front of them clears, Phil confidently walks in front of the wall of photographers, smiling at them while his thumbs rest in his pant pockets. After a few seconds, a woman standing nearby ushers Dan forward.

He walks over and stands next to Phil, his hands resting at his sides. He smiles at the cameras too, so that their picture doesn’t look awkward. Someone else advances to take their place, so they continue to where the interviewers are.

Almost immediately, Phil’s name is called by a blonde woman holding a microphone. He approaches her while Dan hangs around in the background, eavesdropping on their conversation.

She asks what Phil’s expectations of the movie are, and what he thinks of the director as well as a bunch of other questions Dan doesn’t pay too much attention to. His ears perk up at the mention of a guest though.

“So, you’ve actually brought someone with you this time,” The woman observes. “Who is he? A boyfriend?”

“No actually,” Phil laughs. “He’s a good friend of mine who wanted to come.”

“Of course he is.” The interviewer winks, much to Phil’s unamusement. “Have a good time tonight.”

He thanks her, returning to Dan’s side.

“That was rude.” Dan says.

“There’s nothing I can do about it.” Phil shrugs. “Besides, like three other people are going to ask the same thing, just watch.”

Sure enough, almost every interviewer finds a way to mention Dan.

Phil doesn’t seem to mind that much, though. He spits out the same answer every time, and Dan smiles in the background. He’s happy Phil already considers them friends, even though they’ve known each other less than twenty four hours.

They leave the carpet and take their seats in the theatre, waiting for the film to start. The energy in the theatre is so different from what Dan is used to when he attends runway shows. Usually everyone is silent and stoic, Dan included, hunched over their notebooks jotting down ideas on the latest collections. Here everyone is chattering excitedly about the hype surrounding the movie, and even Phil, who is technically working, has a smile on his face as he fiddles with the tiny star-patterned notebook he stored in his suit jacket

(He says the pattern is because he’s team Cap, but Dan guesses it’s probably just another part of his dorky personality).

The film starts, and all the talking dies down as everyone focuses their attention on the movie. Dan can admit, though he’s not a superfan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he really is enthralled at the movie. The film is visually stunning, and the plot keeps him on the edge of his seat the entire time.

Unsurprisingly, the two and a half hour movie passes quickly, and he and Phil quietly shuffle out of the theatre, trying their best to not get lost in the massive crowd.

It’s only when they’re in a cab on the way home that Phil speaks, telling Dan how well he thinks the movie is going to do once it’s released. Dan can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.

They arrive at the apartment complex, and Phil holds the door open for Dan as he gets out of the car.

“Wait – before you leave, can I have your number?” Phil asks, holding out his notepad and pen. Dan takes it, scribbling down his number and a smiley face.

“See you around?” he asks.

“See you around,” Phil agrees.  

-

The next day, Dan sits on his balcony again.

He’s been struggling with this blog post for a few days now, and he knows if he doesn’t finish it by tomorrow, the collection will be old news.

It’s not even the writing he’s struggling with (he always has a mouthful to say about Alexander McQueen), it’s that he was sent the collection to review, which he then had to model himself.

Normally he had no problems modeling for his blog—he knows that he can always dress himself to amp up his appearance, but these clothes have patterns that clash with his round nature. To put it simply…he just wasn’t chiseled enough for these clothes.

He drums his fingers against the table he’s working at, mentally sifting through his options. He can make the post with the pictures he has and be unsatisfied, or he can try calling his entire contact list and beg his friends to model for him.

He sighs. Neither of those options seem appealing to him. He drums his fingers against the table again, letting his mind drift. Maybe if he thinks up what he wants in pictures they’ll just magically appear on his hard drive.

Sadly, reality isn’t so nice, and he jolts out of his daydream at the sound of his phone buzzing. He swipes it open to see he has a new message from an unknown number.

_you look troubled, what’s wrong?_

He squints at the message, making sure he read it correctly. He’s about to text back and ask the sender who they are when he hears someone call his name. He looks up and sees Phil waving at him from the other balcony.

He texts back: _struggling with this blog post. the pictures didn’t come out the way I wanted them to :(_

Phil replies almost immediately: _I’m sorry :( anything I can do to help?_

Dan thinks for a moment, and he pictures Phil in the McQueen clothes. The image tickles his fancy.

_actually, would you mind coming over and modeling for me?_

He sets his phone down and watches Phil read the text. He sees the thumbs up Phil shoots before disappearing into his apartment.

Dan goes into his own apartment to wait for Phil and he sets his phone down. He goes into the office to get out the clothes again when he hears his phone again.

_hey what’s the apartment number? I don’t actually know where you live oops_

He laughs at the message and sends another text with his apartment number _._ Phil arrives a few minutes later, his hair windswept and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Did you run here or something?” Dan asks with a chuckle, noting Phil’s dishevelled appearance.

“Yeah, actually. It’s really windy and my shirt isn’t exactly thick enough to keep it out.” He shrugs, fixing his hair to its regular state of disarray. “So what is it you need me to model?”

“Follow me,” Dan beckons, leading Phil into the spare room.

“This place could really use some colour Dan,” Phil comments, noting the black and white theme Dan continued throughout his entire apartment. “I would’ve thought I’d gone colour blind if I wasn’t able to see my green shirt right now.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Dan points to the rack of clothes he has on the other side of the room. “That’s what you’ll be modeling for me, it’s Alexander McQueen’s latest collection, so do be careful not to wrinkle it when you put it on.”

“I swear I’ll try my best,” Phil says, putting one hand over his heart and the other on his forehead in mock salute. Dan rolls his eyes at him.

“They’re in my size, but I think they should fit you too. Try these on first.”

He hands Phil a pair of black dress pants and a crisp button up with a watercolour bird on it. There are trees sitting on the branches and skulls in the pistils of the flowers that complement the design nicely.

“Whoa, this is fancy,” Phil says, holding the shirt up to his chest in front of Dan’s full sized mirror.

“It’s McQueen, what do you expect? I’ll leave you to get changed.”

He closes the door behind Phil and gets his camera from his room, making sure he still has plenty of space on his memory card.

Phil calls him back into the office, and he shudders at the sight. The shirt is untucked, one of the pants is rolled awkwardly, and Phil is wearing socks with _sloths_ on them, for goodness sake!

“Oh dear, it looks like we’ll have a lot of work to do,” He says, setting up his tripod. “Tuck your shirt in, not too tight.”

He makes sure his camera is stable, and he checks on Phil when he hears him ask ‘like this’?

“Not _that_ tight,” Dan groans. “Let me fix it.”

He tugs at the fabric on Phil’s sides, pulling the shirt out just enough to show the full artwork on the shirt, and he is about to step back and admire his work when he hears Phil giggle.

“Sorry,” Phil says, biting his lip to stifle any more giggles. “It tickles.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Dan replies, but there’s a fond smile on his face that contradicts his words. He’s glad he’s kneeling down to fix Phil’s pant leg so he can’t be seen. “Your feet look kind of small, I don’t know if my shoes will fit you.”

“It’s okay.” Phil smirks. “I don’t mind feeling like a clown.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” Phil’s eyes are icy, but Dan knows this is all light-hearted banter. He clears his throat and hands Phil a pair of black shoes he had nearby.

“Alright, put these on, then I’ll powder you.”

“Oh Dan, I don’t think I need makeup do I? I’m pretty enough as it is.” Phil’s voice is muffled since he’s tying up the shoes Dan gave him, but Dan bets he’s wearing a cheeky impression.

“Oh, it’s not to cover up your beauty,” Dan teases back, sweeping the translucent powder across Phil’s T-zone. “It’s so the camera doesn’t pick up on your ego.”

“Hey!” Phil acts mock-offended, but he’s laughing anyways.

“Now sit down and act natural, I’ll do the rest.” He ushers Phil into the leather lounge chair he keeps for photoshoots, and once Phil is settled with his hands resting on the armrests, Dan begins to snap photos.

Phil is a natural at this, he just sits there and Dan captures pictures where he looks effortlessly elegant. It doesn’t help that Phil seems to look amazing in the entire collection, but Dan _definitely_ isn’t envious of that.

After four different outfit changes, including a black and yellow floral shirt that had sheer panels over the shoulder (Why does it have holes in it? _It’s fashion, go with it._ ), they’ve wrapped up the shoot, and a torrential downpour has started outside.

“You don’t have to go home just yet,” Dan offers. “I could make us some tea and we can watch something.”

“That sounds like fun,” Phil says, wiping off the clear lip gloss Dan had put on him at some point in the shoot. “Do you have something that I could use to take this all off?”

“Top drawer in the bathroom. I’ll put the kettle on, but when you’re done you can pick a movie.”

They reconvene a few minutes later on Dan’s sofa, and Dan sees Phil has taken his DVD of Jurassic Park and placed it on his coffee table.

“Good choice,” he says, handing Phil the mug of tea. “That’s one of my faves.”

“Really Dan?” Phil inspects the plain white mug in his hands. “You don’t even have any colourful mugs?”

“I actually have one from Disneyland, but it’s in the dishwasher right now.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet you’re still here.” Dan smirks.

“Only ’cause it’s raining,” Phil whines, taking a sip of his tea and propping his feet up on the coffee table. “Start the movie already, before our drinks get cold.”

Dan kicks his feet up onto the table too, nudging Phil’s feet a bit farther away so he has enough room and turns on the TV.

A few hours later, they’ve emptied their mugs (twice), and Phil has stretched out in an effort to get comfortable, ending up with his legs on Dan’s lap.

“I should get going,” Phil says, eyeing the clock on Dan’s wall. “Thanks for the tea.”

“Anytime,” Dan smiles, escorting Phil to the door. “Is it still raining?”

“Yeah, but I’ll just run again.”

“Good luck with that.” He pauses, about to close the door behind Phil. “Hey, there’s a fashion show I’m going to on Wednesday, do you want to come with me?”

“Sounds like fun.” Phil nods, leaning against Dan’s doorframe. “Text me the details?”

“Sure. I’ll see you around.”

“See you.”

-

The next few days pass uneventfully. They sit on their respective balconies, they text each other, Phil sends the blog post he wrote about the Civil War premiere (including the picture of both of them on the red carpet), and in return Dan sends him the post of Phil modeling Alexander McQueen.

They end up spending at least half an hour making puns about each other’s usernames, eventually deciding that Phil’s ‘dannyfire’ is much better than ‘danisnotonfire’.

Wednesday comes, and Dan is back in the lobby of Phil’s building. The taxi is waiting for them outside, and Dan is tapping his foot anxiously as he waits for Phil to join him.

When Phil finally shows up, Dan rolls his eyes at what he’s wearing. Dan had given him an outfit for him to wear that is supposed to make him fit in with the other fashionistas at the show, but Phil still manages to add a dorky twist to the outfit without altering it whatsoever. Dan thinks it must be his personality shining through.

They go to the show and end up sitting in the back row. People walk down the catwalk, Dan takes notes in the bright yellow notebook covered in cat stickers Phil gave him, and Phil watches silently, his eyes glazing over.

“It seems like you had a great time,” Dan tells him once the show is over.

“Sorry,” Phil mumbles, a yawn escaping his lips. “High fashion just isn’t my thing.”

“I can tell,” Dan says. “We should go shopping sometime, I need some new spring clothes.”

“I’m free tomorrow?” Phil suggests, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “I need some new jeans pretty desperately, these ones are all worn out.”

“Tomorrow morning sound like a plan?”

“It’s a date.”

-

At ten am the next day, they board a city bus into the heart of London, ready to start their shopping adventure. Dan suggests they start by looking at a few one-of-a-kind boutiques he’s wanted to check out for ages, but Phil protests and says that him buying jeans is a bigger priority.

Phil drags him into Topman, and Dan groans when he sees the racks of clothes. “Of course you shop here.”

“Hey, nothing wrong with buying averagely priced clothes,” Phil says, picking a white shirt with multicoloured splatter off the table, tossing it to Dan. “This would look good on you.”

“No it won’t, Phil,” Dan says, trying to give the shirt back to Phil.

“Oh c’mon,” Phil insists. “If you try it on for me I’ll try something on for you at one of the one of a kind places you want to go to.”

“ _Fine,_ but I’m holding you to that.”

Dan reluctantly tries on the shirt while Phil checks the sizing on his jeans in the cabin to his left.

“Come out!” Phil calls from behind the curtain. “I want to see!”

Dan walks out into the narrow hallway and eyes himself in the mirror. Phil was right, the colours of the shirt compliment Dan’s skin tone nicely.

“See, I told you it would look good.” Phil grins. “You should buy it.”

“Fine,” Dan groans, but only because he doesn’t want Phil to think he was right. “I’ll wear it when I’m not going out.”

They return to their apartment complex midafternoon, Dan holding six shopping bags total while Phil carries two. Dan heads up to his place with the promise of seeing Phil on the balcony later in his head.

Only things don’t go according to plan.

The morning was cloudy but warm, and now that it’s a bit later, rain is pounding down against his windows.

 _I’m not going out in that_ , he thinks, slipping on the t shirt Phil made him buy earlier before settling in for a night of watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model on TV.

At precisely 4:45, he gets a text from Phil.

_Where are you?_

He replies quickly about how he thinks Phil must be mad if he’s sitting outside during the rain, and he doesn’t get an immediate reply so he puts his phone back on the coffee table.

He hears a knock on his door and rushes to open it, being greeted with a dripping wet Phil.

“Is your phone in your pocket?” he asks breathlessly, like he had just ran there.

“Uh, no?” Dan asks confusedly, patting his pockets to be sure.

“Good.” Phil grabs Dan’s arm and pulls him out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. Phil runs down the stairs and out of the building, Dan trailing behind him.

“Phil, wait–” Dan protests. “It’s raining, and I’m not wearing any shoes, and–”

“Don’t care,” Phil pulls him into the downpour, and Dan shivers with the shock of getting soaked.

“I can’t believe you!” Dan gasps, punching Phil’s arm for dramatic effect, only to have his wrists captured by Phil. “You’re the worst person ever.”

“I’m really not,” Phil challenged, backing Dan into a nearby tree. He can feel Dan’s breath hot against his lips, and the sharp inhale he hears is enough to make him close the distance and connect their lips.

Dan responds immediately, returning Phil’s kiss with full force. Phil drops his hands, letting them drop to his sides before he wraps his arms around Phil’s neck, pulling them even closer together.

It’s only when they hear an angry neighbour shout that there are kids watching that they pull away, both of them out of breath.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that.”


End file.
